Why Would Anybody Ever Look at Me?
by MusicalTheatreTrash
Summary: "Do you really believe anybody would ever look at me that way?" Eponine works at a diner, and never believed that anybody could ever really care for her. Until now. Enjonine, Marisette. Modern AU.
1. Why Would Anybody Ever Look at Me?

"Eponine!" Cosette calls, snapping Eponine out of her thoughts. "Could you please wait on those costumers that just came in? They're at table three."

"Ok." Eponine worked as a waitress at a local diner/café. She and Cosette were good friends, but Eponine couldn't understand why Cosette had to be so cheery. All the time. Cosette always had her hair and makeup done perfectly, and always wore in-style clothes. Her hair was golden, and her eyes a clear, baby blue. Eponine had brown hair and eyes, and wore her long, slightly curly hair in a loose ponytail. She hardly ever went anywhere without a tee-shirt, ripped jeans, and her favorite shoes, black converse. But she at least made sure the jeans she wore to work weren't ripped.

Eponine walked over to the table. There were about ten guys around her age sitting there.

"Are we ready to order?"

"Yes, I'll just have a coffee please." Piercing blue eyes looked up at her after scanning the menu.

"Um, I will have the pancakes, please." Eponine turned to look at warm hazel eyes, auburn hair, and freckles.

"Marius, it's almost twelve-o-clock."

"Yeah, but it says that they serve breakfast all day, Enj," Marius replied.

The boy with piercing blue eyes and thick, curly, gold locks rolled his eyes a little bit, then said "Ok, do what you want." The others ordered and Eponine went to take the orders back to the kitchen. She saw Cosette walk over to the table and fill the cups with coffee. Eponine had never seen anybody look at someone the way Marius looked at Cosette. He was just talking with one of the boys when he heard her filling the coffee cups, so he turned around and his eyes immediately widened and filled with awe. He didn't take his eyes off of her until she disappeared behind the kitchen doors. Eponine had always wished someone would look at her like that, but deep inside she knew that no one ever would. The orders were ready, so she brought them out. She walked away, overhearing Marius talk about Cosette. But she didn't notice Enjolras glance after her.

Later that day, Cosette and Eponine were leaving and locking up. The manager was gone, so he had given the key with Eponine and left her in charge. "That one boy, Marius, really seemed to be taken with you," Eponine said as they were walking out to the parking lot.

"Oh, I don't think he really liked me that much," Cosette replied, blushing.

"Did you see his face when he first saw you?! His eyes were glued to you every second you were out there."

"Well, maybe he did." Cosette smiled a little, blushing even more. "But that other boy, the one wearing the red shirt, was looking at you." Cosette grinned.

"Now that I can confirm as a no. He was only looking at me because I was the waitress."

"Riiight."

Eponine rolled her eyes. "Do you really believe that anybody would ever look at _me_ like that?"

"Eponine! Don't be silly! Of course! You're very pretty."

"Well, thanks." But Eponine didn't really believe it. She knew better. She wasn't anything like Cosette, and never would be. Her little gray pickup truck looked pathetic next to Cosette's sleek red Convertible.

"See you tomorrow, 'Ponine."

"Good night."


	2. Back Again

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

Eponine's alarm went off at 6:30 A.M. the next morning. She sleepily turned it off and got out of bed. An hour later, she was on her way to work. She turned on the coffee pot and made sure all the tables were set, getting everything ready.

"GOOD MORNING!" A cheerful, high-pitched voice came from the doorway. "I brought muffins!"

"Oh, you didn't need to do that, Cosette," Eponine said.

"That's OK. I like to bake," Cosette smiled.

"You baked these yourself?" That's another thing that Eponine didn't have. Cosette was always crafty and could cook, Eponine always burned and messed up things. "Thank you. These are delicious."

"Your welcome! I just felt like doing something fun when I got home yesterday."

The other employees arrived, and they got started. It was around 11:30 when she spotted a familiar face come in to the diner. He sat down at one of the high top tables by the window, set his pile of books down with a resounding thud, and became deeply absorbed into one of them.

"What can I get you today, Monsieur?"

Enjolras jumped, startled, as he hadn't noticed her walk up.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to frighten you."

"Oh, it's alright, I just didn't see you." Their eyes locked for a brief moment before Enjolras turned thoughtfully. "I'd like a turkey sandwhich with a black coffee, please."

"OK, I'll have that right out." Eponine smiled, and Enjolras found himself noticing how it lit up her face.

About ten minutes later she came back out with his meal.

"Thank you," Enjolras gave her a nod and a little bit of a smile.

"My pleasure," Eponine smiled again and walked back into the kitchen while Enjolras turned back to his books.

"Ah, so he came back," Cosette smirked as Eponine entered the kitchen.

"Oh, please, he brought his books. He came here to study, Cosette."

"Well he _had_ to make it look like he came to do something, so that it wouldn't look like he just came back to see _you_."

Eponine just ignored that and continued working. She glanced beyond the counter at Enjolras. He was still studying. Cosette was crazy, he wouldn't have come back just to see Eponine… Or maybe… no. Eponine couldn't let herself think like that. She had other things she had to keep her mind on. However – although she would absolutely _never_ admit it – she did find him to be rather handsome.

Enjolras stayed in his seat for three hours, just reading and drinking coffee. When he finally did start packing up, he said goodbye to Eponine, waved at Cosette, and when Eponine glanced away he left a ten-dollar bill on the counter. Cosette once again smirked as he walked out the door.

"Well, you saw it! He said goodbye to you! Then he had to wave at me to make it look normal. Believe me, I know what I'm talking about."

"Ok, Cosette, point made." Eponine still didn't believed in the slightest that anyone could love her. She just wasn't… well, wasn't something. Eponine one time secretly made a list of reasons why she wasn't the lovable type, but she never had and never would tell anybody. She just wanted to hush Cosette for the time being, so she played along. She couldn't get her hopes up. Eponine knew better, she used to practically live on the street until she found a job and had raised enough money for a small apartment. Life had never let up on her, and she didn't see how it ever would in the future. Cosette's shift ended early, and soon after it was closing time. Eponine had to stay and clean up, so she didn't get home until about 11:00. She got ready for bed, exhausted, and fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.


	3. Ras

**Hiya lovelies! I am SO sorry for the wait! This is kind of short, but at least it's something :)** **I mentioned some college stuff and I only just started dual-enrolling so if I get something wrong sorry bout that. Thank you guys for the amazing reviews! Never fail to make me smile.**

 _"Eponine! Ev'ryone 'ere? You know your place Brujon, Babet, Claquesous. You Montparnasse, watch for the law with Eponine, take care." The Patron-Minette, plus the forced Eponine, were just getting ready to follow through with a robbery Thenardier had been planning for months. Eponine, of course, wanted no part of it. But if she dared disobey… she shuddered at the thought of what her father would do._

 _Everything was going according to plan. Brujon was inside the house, ready to help Claquesous slip in, grab the goods, and get out before the owners knew what hit 'em. They were just climbing ou of the window when they heard police sirens._

 _"Hurry! Get out of 'ere!" Thenardier practically screamed._

 _But the gang was cornered. Red, white, and blue flashed around them. Eponine had managed to escape, but not before Thenardier realized she was the only one who would call the police._

 _"Where are ya off to, little lady?" He grabbed her arm._

 _"Let me go! I'm gonna scream!"_

 _"One little scream and you'll regret it for a year!"_

 _He slapped her, making her fall to the ground. He tried to grab her again, but she scrambled into the shadows. The police caught Thenardier, Brujon, Babet, and Montparnasse, but Claquesous, as an apparition suddenly vanishes as quickly as it had come, or as the wind stops and starts again before anyone notices, disappeared into the darkness as if he was night itself._

 _Eponine walked home, after making sure it was safe, but everywhere she looked she could have sworn she saw her father's twisted smile, and felt his beady eyes watching her._

 _When she opened the front door to her "house" (when she lived with her parents), she stepped inside. A floorboard creaked behind her._

 _"Going somewhere, lovely?"_

 _Eponine gasped. "Montparnasse? They took you to jail! How did you get out?!"_

 _"We're just too good for them, 'Ponine." Said a voice from the opposite side of the room._

 _Eponine whirled around again._

 _"Father? I…"_

 _"Couldn't wait to see me, right? I'm happy to see you too, but I haven't quite forgotten your little… 'slip up' earlier." Before she could respond Thenardier nodded at Montparnasse and the latter shoved her to the ground by her hair. The gang leader slid off his belt and raised it in the air, Eponine watching it come down and strike –_

Eponine shot upright and wiped the tears off of her face.

"They're in jail… they're in jail." She had to remind herself. Her father and the Patron-Minette – except Claquesous – were arrested that night, but the nightmares still found her.

Claquesous didn't worry her, he would never come out in the daytime and Eponine was never his problem. It was her father and 'Parnasse who haunted her. The two had grown close, too close. Montparnasse was even considered Thenardier's unofficial-son-in-law. If they hadn't gone to prison Eponine's father would be arranging for Eponine to be married to Montparnasse. Eponine was always afraid of when that day would come, but now she didn't have to worry about it.

She looked at the clock. 3:44 AM. She shook off the feeling the last dream had given her and fell asleep until her alarm woke her a few hours later.

She actually didn't have work until the afternoon. The manager was back and it was Friday, which meant Eponine had three classes at a local college.

Literature, German (Eponine was curious about all other countries but Germany intrigued her the most), and drama (her chosen elective). Literature started at 8:30, lasted until 9:45, then she headed across the building for German, which went from 10:00 to 11:15. From there she had a 30-minute break, usually in which she ate a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and an apple she brought, then had drama, her favorite class, held in the actual school theatre.

Eponine got up, jumped in the shower (singing as always), and got dressed in dark-wash jeans, a heather gray tank top with a red and black plaid half-way sleeve flannel that she left unbuttoned, and her Converse. She added a quick coat of mascara before throwing her hair into a ponytail, slinging her backpack over her shoulder with coffee-brown curls bouncing behind her.

The first two classes went by fairly quickly – although the homework wouldn't – and Eponine was walking to her final class, trying to wrap her mind around her latest reading assignment: Pride and Predjudice by Jane Austen. She felt she could relate to Lizzie, or Elizabeth, but not because she would ever marry someone like Mr. Darcy. She forced herself to finish the sentence with "like Mr. Darcy."

She looked across the school. People watching was sort of a habit she'd picked up one way or another. The girl was so busy observing that a strong, blond figure bumping into her (or rather vice-versa) made her jump.

"Hey! Watch where you're-oh," a voice that carried leadership said, but stopped once seeing who it was.

"I'm sorry! I was completely distracted. I am so clumsy! Are you alright?" Eponine looked up, recognition dawning on her as well.

"Yes, fine. Enjolras," he held out his hand.

"Eponine," she replied, holding out hers to shake his.

They stood in silence for a few seconds.

"Well see you around, I guess, 'ras."

"Oh, right, OK." He smiled. They went in opposite directions.

"Hmm, 'ras… I like that." He thought. But somehow it sounded better to him when she said it.


	4. A Real Conversation

**I know, I know.** ** _Please_** **don't hate me. I am aware that I promised you this two months ago... but I have been really busy with school and do feel guilty. Sooo, I wrote you an extra long chapter AND an exciting one! Hope you like!**

The next several days went by, same as always. Eponine woke up, went to work (and/or school), came home, did homework, got ready for bed, and did it all again the next day. Although, Enjolras usually came to the café and they waved to eachother at school. Once in a while they'd actually stop and trade a "hey, how are you?" but ran out of time and had to keep moving.

Even though they wouldn't really say they were friends, they found themselves looking forward to it each time.

And Eponine's mistake?

Telling Cosette.

"OH MY GOSH! OH. MY. GOSH!"

She practically screeched when Eponine told her.

"I knew it! Soon you'll fall in love, and be a couple- "

"Cosette."

"-and get married- "

"Cosette!"

"-and have adorable kids- "

" _Cosette_!" Eponine anunciated both syllables.

"Now stop making up all this nonsense! We've got work to do."

With that she walked away before Cosette could say another word.

Fortunately for Eponine, Cosette shut up, but she stayed giddy for the rest of the day. As soon as Enjolras walked in she looked at Eponine and had a grin like a 5-year-old on Christmas.

Eponine just shot her a " _calm down_ " look and walked over to his table.

"Hello there," Eponine greeted.

"Hi," Enjolras replied. "I'll have- "

"-a large black coffee." She finished for him and smiled.

He nodded. "You're good."

"Simple order." She responded before shrugging and going back to the kitchen.

 _That smile again_ , the back of his mind tugged. _Knock it off_ , he told himself. He had to focus.

Eponine brought his coffee out, worked for a little longer, then came back.

She sat in the seat across from him.

"I'm on break," she said, giving an explanation to his confused expression.

They spent a few minutes in silence, Enjolras still reading, both decidedly awkward.

"So… what are you reading?" Eponine inquired, hoping to diminish the silence.

" _The Social Contract_ , by Jean-Jacques Rousseau."

"Ah, an anarchist, huh?"

Enjolras chuckled. "Yeah. Ever since I started high school I've disagreed with the government. The lower class has got to rise up! Our government will be forced to face the people if we will just take a stand!"

"Okay, Okay, take it easy there." She laughed.

Enjolras chuckled again. "Sorry, I can get a little intense sometimes."

"I can see that." She teased. "So, how do you plan to do this? Is it just you?"

"No. I have a group of friends – the Les Amis is what we call ourselves – that have the same beliefs. They were the guys who came in with me the first time we saw each other. So far we don't have a plan, but I'm trying to start planning so we can be ready when the time is right."

"That's very…ambitious of you all. Do you really think it will get the government's attention, though? I mean, no offense, but I doubt they have time to deal with a few highschoolers standing for a cause."

"I know, that's why we are going to make sure that what we do is _big_. It has to catch their attention or nobody will take us seriously. I would lay down my life for the Cause."

Eponine shook her head. "I think it's great what you're doing, and I certainly admire your dedication. Actually, if you can give me the time and place, I'd like to come to the next meeting."

Enjolras pulled a flyer from his backpack and handed it to Eponine.

"'FREEDOM BEGINS WHERE IT ENDS IGNORANCE

TAKE YOUR PLACE NEXT TO THE LES AMIS

MONDAY NIGHTS, 6:30 AT THE CAFÉ MUSAIN,'" Eponine read off of a white piece of paper that had a silhouette waving a flamboyant red flag. She looked up at Enjolras. "I like it. I'll be there." She looked at her watch. "Oh! I have to get back to work. See ya later." She hurredly got up, waved, and disappeared.

"SO?!" Cosette screamed when Eponine walked into the back.

"Shh! You're going to startle the customers."

Cosette rolled her eyes playfully. "Forget the customers. I want to know how it went!"

"How what went?" Eponine asked.

"The conversation with him, silly!"

"Oh, right. I forgot."

Cosette sighed. "Well? How did it go?"

Eponine shrugged. "Fine, I guess. He gave me a flyer for a student government club and I told him I'd be there."

"No way! When?"

"Monday night at 6:30." Eponine responded.

"But that's in two days! What are you going to wear?"

"I don't know. Why does it matter?"

"Um, because! You can't go looking like–" Cosette looked her up and down. "–that."

"Alright, what would you have me wear?"

Cosette walked in a circle around her, a serious, focused look on her face.

"With your skin tone I'm thinking colors such as cranberry, coral, navy blue or dark green. It's a casual meeting so you won't need to wear a dress; however, I would put you in a pair of jeggings and a button up, half-sleeve top in one of the colors I mention. Also I'd leave your hair down. Your natural curl at the bottom gives it a fun, care-free look."

"Okay, but I don't have either of those clothes." Eponine said.

Cosette turned to her with a sly smile. "Then it's time to get the trio together for a trip to the mall."

"Cosette I'm sure I can find something in my closet instead–" Eponine started but Cosette had already texted Musichetta.

"Nonsense!" Cosette's phone went off. "Musichetta said she's down."

"Alright, alright. I'm down too."

"Yay! This is going to be so much fun!"

"Um, Cosette?"

"Yes?"

"Do you think we should maybe get back to the customers?"

"Oh! Yes! Oops." Cosette laughed.

They returned to work, Eponine starting to even look forward to their shopping trip.

 **Please review! I'm also working on the second chapter of I've Come Home From so Far and I'm almost done. Thanks!**


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